detail information

Test machine:

For this review we will be using a computer with the following configuration:

Hardware:

• Motherboard: ECS Elitegroup N2U400-A with Nvidia nForce 2 Ultra-400 and nForce MCP chipset.
•  Processor: AMD Athlon XP 2800+ (Barton) 333 MHz FSB.
• RAM: 1 GB Infineon PC2700 DDR
•  GFX: ATI Radeon 9600 XT
•  Sound: SoundBlaster Audigy
• Hard disk: Samsung SP1614N 160 GB.

System set-up:

The drive was connected as Secondary Master, identified itself as AOPEN DUW1608/ARR. DMA (Direct Memory Access) and autorun was enabled for all devices.

Software:

Windows XP professional is installed on the computer along with Service Pack 2 for windows XP. We will be using the following software in this review:

• Ahead Nero Burning ROM version 6.6.0.1
• Ahead Nero CD/DVD Speed v3.55
• Ahead Nero Info Tool v2.27
• Slysoft CloneCD v5.0.4.2
• DVD-Identifier 3.5
• Exact Audio Copy v0.95 pre-beta 5
• K-Probe v2.4.2

Now it's time to take a closer look at the write technology used by the AOpen DUW1608/ARR:

CD-Recordable:

The AOpen DUW1608/ARR uses CAV (Constant Angular Velocity) to write at its rated speed of 48x. (The drive used in our review wrote some disc at higher speed then official supported, like the one above at 49.66x). This gives an average speed of 37.69x. Two drives for comparison are found below.

The Samsung TS-H552B uses P-CAV (Partial-Constant Angular Velocity) to write at its rated speed of 40x. This gives an average speed of 34.27x.

The NEC ND-2500A uses Z-CLV, (Zone-Constant Linear Velocity), to write at its maximum speed of 32X. The drive wrote the last zone at 32X and this gives an average speed of 27.16x.

 For comparison we have made the following table: 

As we can read from the table, the AOpen drive is the fastest drive so far writing on CD-R's.

CD-Rewritable:

The AOpen DUW1608/ARR uses Z-CLV, (Zone-Constant Linear Velocity) writing technology to write at 24X on CD-RW discs, the average speed is 22.06x.  Below are some other drives for comparison:

The Samsung TS-H552B uses P-CAV (Partial-Constant Angular Velocity) writing technology to write at 32X on CD-RW discs, the average speed is 30.21x.

The LaCie d2 DVD±RW Double Layer uses CLV (Constant Linear V elocity) writing technology to write at 16X on CD-RW discs, the average speed is 16x. For a better overview we present the following comparison table:

As we can see from the table, the AOpen DUW1608/ARR is the slowest drive - compared with the others that also write CD-RW at 24x.

16X DVD+R / 8x DVD-R Writing speed:

The AOpen DUW1608/ARR uses CAV, (Constant Angular Velocity) to write DVD+R at 16x. The Average speed is 11.90x and total writing time is 6 minutes and 51 seconds.

The AOpen DUW1608/ARR uses Z-CLV, (Zone-Constant Linear Velocity) to write DVD-R at 8x. The average speed is 7.31x and total writing time is 9 minutes and 08 seconds.

The Samsung TS-H552B uses CAV, (Constant Angular Velocity) to write DVD+R at 16x. The Average speed is 12.03x and total writing time is 5 minutes and 58 seconds.

The Philips DVDR1640P uses CAV, (Constant Angular Velocity) to write at 16x. The Average speed is 11.56x and total writing time is 5 minutes and 48 seconds. The average speed is lower and the writing time is higher than it could have been due to the Walking OPC generation 2 using some time to constantly adjust the writing quality, we could see this as constant dips in the speed curve.

The BenQ DW1600A also uses CAV, (Constant Angular Velocity) to write at 16x. The Average speed is 11.32x and total writing time is 6 minutes and 7 seconds. Below, we made a comparison table:

From the table above, we can see that the AOpen DUW1608/ARR is the slowest drive writing DVD+R at 16x and DVD-R at 8x.

Features and techniques:

What is double layer recording technology?

Introduced by Philips and Mitsubishi Kagaku Media (MKM) in 2003, double layer recording technology offers two recordable layers on a single DVD disc, providing nearly double the capacity of 4.7GB single layer DVDs. The two individual layers are separated by a transparent buffer layer and are accessible from the same side of the disc, so recording can occur completely uninterrupted.

When a double layer disc is inserted into a compatible drive, the laser will focus on one of the layers and attempt to read an ADIP (Address in Pregroove) signal. From this signal, the drive is able to detect if the disc is a double layer DVD+R disc and which layer it's focusing on. Once the media type and layer are determined, the laser can adjust its range of focus to read one of the two recordable layers.

Auto Balance System (ABS):

With the rotary speed of optical drives becoming higher and higher, the off-center load of the disc obviously increases and the vibration of the spindle motor becomes aggravated. Our Auto Balance System can effectively decrease the vibration under the high-speed rotation and improve the quality of information reading and writing sharply.

Dynamic Damping System (DDS):

When a disc drive reads an imbalanced disc, an outer force emerges from the rotating transverse axle as follows: M3 is the rotating axle, and M2 is called the dynamic damping apparatus and M1 is the loader and frame. This dynamic damping system can decrease vibration by one-third or less. With this design, operating quality and read speed of the disc drive are both improved significantly. The vibration and noise are then effectively absorbed through this specially designed vibration-proof apparatus, and burn quality is improved and stabilized.

Noise Control System (NCS):

Analysis of the airflow field led us to find the factors influencing the field and new design ideas, which in turn changed the tray design of our drives and the way sound absorbing foam was attached to the inner side of the top cover.

Buffer underrun Prevention (JustLink):

In case the data transfer cannot catch up during the writing process, the Buffer underrun errors will occur. This error has always been major concern for CD-R/ RW drive users. JustLink is a new technology that automatically prevents buffer underrun errors by predicting them before they happen. This 16x DVD Dual drive features JustLink technology to enable stable writing in the following situations where buffer underrun errors may otherwise occur in a conventional drive.

• With high-speed writing.
• When some other operation is being performed on the computer during writing.
• When writing CD-R / RW drive from a CD-ROM drive.
• When writing directly via network.

Writing Speed Control (JustSpeed):

JustSpeed is the function that prevents writing error when high writing speed is selected. When JustSpeed is ON, the drive decides the most appropriate writing speed according to the result of medium calibration (using the ATIP information, such as maker name, model-number, etc. pre-recorded in disc) and writes with the speed. This function is changeable in "mode select command", and the default setting is "JustSpeed" is ON.

Running Optimum Power Control (ROPC):

During the process of high-speed recording/writing, an unbalanced optical disc will wobble slightly; under CLV (Constant Linear Velocity) mode, recording/writing quality will decrease due to this wobble and the constant power. However, by adopting the ROPC technique, the device can adjust its power by detecting feedback signals from the disc so as to create optimal writing / recording quality.

Book type (bitsetting).

The AOpen DUW1608/ARR supports bit-setting and will as default write DVD+R, DVD+RW and DVD+R9 DL media with DVD-ROM book type.

Here is how you could check if your discs are really written with DVD-ROM book type:

Start Nero CD-DVD Speed and click the Disc info button and you should get something like this:

DVD+R with book type DVD-ROM

DVD+RW with book type DVD-ROM

DVD+R9 DL with book type DVD-ROM.

Another quick test is to start Nero CD-Speed and look at the disc information:

This should also say DVD-ROM.

Quality Scans:

The AOpen DUW1608/ARR can be used to measure/scans burned discs for their quality. This can be handy to check and get an impression of which state/condition the burned discs are in. How reliable this feature is, is not known at the time being.

The AOpen DUW1608/ARR scan results of a DVD+R.

 Included software:

Now it's time to look at the included software and to comment if needed. Notice that we may not use the included software in our performance testing part of the review.

Nero OEM suite:

We guess that the Ahead program suite is not new to most of you; it contains programs for creating most types of CD/DVD discs, and Packet writing program, media player, etc.

Cyberlink Multimedia Pack:

Now that we have finished examining the drive and its writing strategies, it's time to head on to next page, which is reading performance test…